Photographs showing a school in eastern China handing out bundles of cash to pupils as part of prize money totalling 8 million yuan (HK$9 million) has sparked a storm on mainland social media, with internet users labelling the school “redneck rich”.

Cangnan County Shuren Middle School, in affluent Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, awarded the cash to those pupils who did well in their senior high school entrance examinations, the news portal Sina.com reported.

There are about 1,200 pupils at the school, according to a post on its website in January.

The school said it hoped to attract outstanding pupils by giving out the money as an incentive.

But some internet users expressed surprise at the school’s method for attracting excellent pupils, labelling it “redneck rich” and “capricious” – terms that have been used online to describe the antics of China’s nouveau riche.